High school basketball report

Freshman too good for class

Jacksonville Coach Marian Kursh was not going to make Shymaryia Christopher wait.

Kursh said she recognized last season that Christopher’s talents would be wasted on the freshman team and promoted the 5-9 forward to the varsity roster. Christopher has not disappointed her coach.

“Typically, ninth-graders go with the ninth-grade coach, but she has an ability that’s very special,” said Kursh, who said Christopher is averaging approximately 21 points and 8 rebounds a game. “I wanted to grab her early. She’s very young and still growing, but she is maturing.”

When it comes to going after the ball, there is nothing bashful about Shy. In Wednesday’s 41-21 home victory over Little Rock Hall, Christopher picked up four steals and turned three of them into breakaway layups. She also finished with a gamehigh 16 points and eight rebounds.

In Tuesday’s victory at Maumelle, Kursh said there was a lot of attention being paid to Christopher.

“They were all over her and she started to get frustrated,” Kursh said. “I said, ‘Look, that says a lot about who you are as a player. They obviously know you can score and they don’t want you do to that. But guess what? You have other roles. You can be a great screener, a great rebounder, a great passer. You have other things you can do.’ She’s doing those things and I’m loving it.”

Jacksonville (12-12) won its fourth consecutive game Friday night, beating Little Rock Parkview 54-52.